TJ Martinez: Slap shot -- a hockey fan is reborn

Thursday

Oct 29, 2009 at 12:01 AMOct 29, 2009 at 1:17 AM

After checking the local concert venues with no success, being the gentleman I am I thought to myself, "what could my wife and I possibly enjoy together?" -- Avalanche game! What kind of woman wouldn't enjoy watching men with missing teeth and hockey sticks check each other against a wall of glass.

TJ Martinez

I spent the past weekend in the big city of Denver covering state softball. My wife accompanied me on the trip, and with the games being completed by the late afternoon I had the rest of the night to find some sort of entertainment that my wife and I could enjoy.

After checking the local concert venues with no success, being the gentleman I am I thought to myself, "what could my wife and I possibly enjoy together?" -- Avalanche game! What kind of woman wouldn't enjoy watching men with missing teeth and hockey sticks check each other against a wall of glass.

Before the game started I was somewhat shocked to hear my wife had never even watched a hockey game on television. What was she doing all those nights she sat next to me while I watched the Avs take on the Red Wings? Come to think of it, she might have been in the other room ... . I don't really know, I was too busy watching the game.

My wife's only knowledge of the game came from Disney's "Mighty Ducks" movies -- which, by the way, are some of the best sports movies ever -- rivaling such classics as "The Natural," "Field of Dreams" and "Rudy."

But anyway, having never attended an Avalanche game myself, I was pleasantly surprised as to just how entertaining the game was. I have seen many concerts at the Pepsi Center, where the Avs and Nuggets play their home games, and they had enough lights, sirens and other things going on to rival a Kiss concert. The only thing that was missing was a fire-breathing bass player, but they more than made up for it with a giant floating Chipotle burrito.

The game was entertaining enough for me to forget about the $35 taxi ride to the Pepsi Center.

I had heard for years that the live hockey experience was far superior to watching the game on TV, and after witnessing it this weekend I have to agree. There was such a show at the Pepsi Center, complete with new mascot Bernie the St. Bernard pumping up the crown and a knock-off "Price is Right" contest during intermission. But the best show was on the ice.

After the Avs' Ryan O'Reilly scored a goal, I heard one of the best sounds in all of sports, the siren signifying a goal. The siren is deafening, and you can't help but stand to your feet when you hear it.

Seeing the players in person also makes you realize how athletic these hockey players really are. They hit like football players but are as graceful on the ice as figure skaters. Being in that atmosphere brought back my love for the game that I had lost during the lockout in 2005.

After 2005 I felt burned and refused to go back. The Avalanche were significantly weaker after the implementation of a salary cap, and my favorite player, Peter Forsberg, was no longer with the team. I had brief affairs with the game, usually during the playoffs or a Red Wings game, but my heart was never in it. I came close in 2008 when Forsberg re-signed with the Avalanche, but as quickly as he came, he was gone and so was I.

But after watching the Avalanche with their great young players -- O'Reilly, Matt Duchene and T.J. Galiardi -- it reminded of all the good memories spent watching the Avs when they were going through another youth movement with players like Milan Hejduk, Alex Tanguay and Chris Drury.

I don't know if it was the atmosphere at the Pepsi Center or the fact that I shared the experience with my wife, but my love for the game has been renewed.

TJ Martinez writes for the La Junta Tribune-Democrat La Junta, Colo.

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